Improvement in ticket-punch



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Lettei'sPatcnt N 97,071, dated November 23, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN TICKET-PUNCH.

The Schedule referred .to in these Letters Patent and making part of the 8- To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Jonx Gannxun, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of'Oalifornia, have invented a certain new and improved Tickct-Attachment to Nippers employed for collecting the fares of passengers on railroad-cars and other vehicles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the-accompanying drawings, and letters marked thereon.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved anode of ascertaining more clearly the number of passengers who ride in a public. conveyance, and the number of fares taken, or, in other words, a more perfect check on'forgetful or dishonest conductors.

My device consists in the employment of a recep- Laclc or ticket-holder, which is attached to the ticketnippcr or punch, and in which are deposited the tickets provided with coupons.

The receptacle is provided with springs and slides, so that only one ticket is removed at a time.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a side sectional elevation of a nippcr -arrying my improvement.

Figure 2 is a plan, with one ticket projecting.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to fully describe its construction and mode of operation.

The receptacle or ticket-holder a is attached to one side of the nipper, and is separated from the couponbox or compartment by a partition, I). In this commitment is aimed the ticket with con )ons each re 1- I 7 l resenting the number of fares desired.

When money is paid to the conductor, one or more of these tickets are removed from the box by a slide, 0, operated by the hand of the conductor, which pushes the end of the ticket through an opening or slot, (I, between the top of the door and cover of the nippcr or punch, a small arm, 6, being attached to the end of the slide.

The arm should be of no greater length than the thickness otthe ticket, and a slot of sntlicicnt length is made in the top of the box for its operation.

The slide operates-in a case, placed at the right of the cutter or punch, and is thrown back by a s )ring, g, with the thumb of the operator.

For holding the tickets against the inner face of the compartment of the box, I employ springs 70- h, of sutficient strength, which are attached to a plate, 1', and which cross each other, with lower ends resting on the bot-tom of the box. These springs bear the plate against the package of tickets with sntlicient force to admit the contents ot'the box to be removed by the action of the slide and arm, and the fare is cut from each ticket by the knife It, and falls into the coupon-box.

In operating with my device, the box is filled with tickets in the morning,.and the amount is charged to the conductor, and any discrepancy at night between the coupons in the punch-box, tickets in the holder, and money received, would be chargeable to him.

In this connection 1 will describe more fully in what way my device becomes a moreperfect check upon dishonesty.

Under the old system, where punchers or nippcrs are; employed, the conductor is allowed to carry the tickets in his pockets, and when one or more are sold or presented, he was required to clip the fare or fares into the coupon-box; and if a ticket were presented with only one coupon attached, if desired, he might neglect to cut the coupon from it, and place it with the other loose tickets in his pockets. Thus he would have a starter, as it is called.

Now, it another passenger should get upon the car, with a ticket having two coupons attached, the con ductor could take this ticket, and give him in exchange the one previously received, with a single fare attached; and so, also, it a third passenger should ride, with a ticket having three coupons attached, an

exchange might be made, and the conductor give the ticket with the two coupons.

Thus it will be seen thatthc conductor, by exchanging, has received from thrccor less passengers aticket with thrce coupons attachcd'to it, without clipping, and is now prepared, when a passenger gets on his car with anunclippcd ticket, having four l'arcs attached, to give him the one in his possession having the three coupons upon it, in exchange for the fresh ticket, and the conductofls number of tickets, taken from the ot the in the morning, is incrcased onc, which may be multiplied in this way many times during the day.

It is often the case that the conductor attempts, and is succcsst'ul, too, in passing oif a ticket with one coupon cut oft; but it he succeeds in intrtalucing into the holder a cut ticket, through the slot, to pass it ott' again, it will check all further operation, as that ticket cannot be. removed, nor any other, without unlocking the box.

By my improved device, where the conductor has no handling of the tickets, but to withdraw them from the box, and clip the coupons therefrom, in the presence of the passenger, it is confidently believed that a more cti'cctnal check to dishonesty is bad, than by anyother system or device now in use.

Having thus described my invention,

What 1 claim, and dcsire to secure by Letters Patent, is i In combination with a punch or nipper, the receptacle or ticket-holder a, substantiallyv as described.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal.

JOHN GARDNER. [L. s.]

Witnesses: I

\VM. H. LYON, 0. W. M. SMITH. 

